Retention arrangements are used particularly in relation to engines where there are rotating shafts as it is important to retain the association between seals and other components within the engine. In particular, a rotary gas turbine engine may incorporate a cooling air system in which relatively cool air is conveyed over at least one face of a turbine disk in a radially outward direction before it is introduced through channels or orifices near the periphery of the disk to an internal blade cooling system via blade roots. A cover plate is carried on the disk face to both create a cooling volume for the disk face and a plenum for the airflow into the blade roots. The cover plate is sealed against the disk face to avoid cooling air loss, and normally carries part of a seal assembly co-operating with an adjacent stationary part. The design of the cover plate, therefore, requires stability, dynamic balance, and tolerances to differential thermal expansion between the disk and the cover plate. Further, the cover plate must be positively located on the face of the disk but remain capable of being disassembled and accurately rebuilt.
The assembly of the cover plate to the disk may require a compressible ring that is radially captured at its center diameter by a groove in the disk. During assembly, a special tool is often required to compress the ring to be held in the disk groove to allow a cover plate to pass over the ring. The ring can then be allowed to expand so that a portion of the ring extends above the disk groove and interferes with the cover plate to provide axial retention. The specially configured tool compresses and holds the ring in the disc groove during assembly and disassembly. Such arrangement, however, requires a groove to be machined in a wall of the disk. Such constructs typically do not provide any type arrangement for correcting rotor assembly imbalance, which is not desirable in the airline industry. Moreover, because past methods of assembly and disassembly require special tools to be employed so as to collapse the ring within the disk groove, additional costs are incurred by the airline industry both in tooling costs as well as human capital that is required to maintain and operate such tools. Moreover, the assembly process can be difficult and time consuming due to the nature and size of the tools and components. The tools that are used include small clips that hold the ring into the disk groove. Using the clips is complicated. Due to this difficulty, several attempts may be required before the components are successfully assembled and the opportunity for damage increases with each attempt. Accordingly, it would be preferable to reduce maintenance costs and improve upon the process of assembling and disassembling the aforementioned turbine components.